Wouldn’t It Be Nice

I haven’t heard of a pop song running less that 2:30 minutes, well, since The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (RT 2:25) hit the terrestrial airwaves in ’67 or thereabouts.

Nonetheless, that didn’t stop “Regis & Kelly” producer Michael Gelman from demanding that Ringo cut his planned on-air performance to that fleeting length.

Ringo, who’s in town promoting his new album, agreed to slice 45 seconds off his 4-minute 15-second gig, but it didn’t cut muster with Michael “Machiavelli” Gelman who, to his credit, did bend a bit to allow a running time of “under 3 minutes.”

Even so, Ringo bolted the studio with these parting words: ‘God bless and goodbye. We still love Regis.”’

Ringo’s publicist fell on her sword:

“…due to miscommunication between his publicist, Elizabeth Freund, and the musical director, Starr didn’t realize the performance had to be 2 1/2 minutes or less, Freund told The Associated Press.”

Rege’s publicist was all too willing to pass the buck:

“A spokeswoman for “Regis and Kelly” told the AP the show’s producers tried to work with Starr, noting his appearance had been booked since November and the time requirement for the song — the show’s standard — had been expressed numerous times.

Just think. Only 30 seconds separated America from hearing the latest track from Ringo’s new album. What a shame!